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I was sleeved on March 5th at approx 0800. My journey started a few years ago. I started tossing the idea of bariatric surgery around when I kept gaining and gaining weight. My dr kept doing test to see if there was a reason, and adding meds to my regimen because I was being diagnosed with different things. I talked to my dr about it and went through the initial seminar that the local bariatric surgeon has. That's as far as I went that time. I met my wife and realized that I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to be around for her and my children. Her and I talked and she pushed me to go back to the dr and start the process again. I am a paramedic for the city we live in and she is an EMT. A nurse at one of the ER's had recently had gastric bypass. My wife spent about an hour one night talking with her and her experience. She recommeneded the surgeon she used. He had practiced at the local trauma hospital and done the gastric surgeries there. Our friend had had great success and had nothing but great things to say about Dr. Allen. I did some research into the different types of surgeries that were being performed and decided that I really wanted the sleeve. I contacted Dr. Allen's office and scheduled to go through the seminar again. By this time I had almost completed the 6 month weight loss study with my primary dr. After the seminar I submitted the appropriate paperwork and was pre-approved. I met with Dr. Allen and informed that at that time he was not doing the sleeve. He suggested the bypass for me. I decided it was the next best thing; I was NOT having the band done. lol Dr. Allen wanted a few approvals from my primary physician before surgery. I had to have a EKG, and Pulminary Function Test. The PFT came back obstructed at the dr's office so I was sent to a pulmonologist. I was very discouraged. I met with the pulmonologist he sent me to and was told there was a chance I had COPD. Again, more discouragement. The pulmonologist was not about to sign off on letting me have surgery since the intubation could be bad for me. He wanted me to use an inhaler and CPAP at night for 6 weeks and come back for a follow up PFT. 6 Weeks later I was back. The PFT was enormously better, and I felt ENORMOUSLY better. Best of all, he APPROVED ME FOR SURGERY. My primary physician signed off ok'ing it as well. It was time for the waiting game with the insurance company for approval. A few weeks later on Feburary 5th at 1300, I recieved a phone call from the surgeon's office that I had been approved and my surgery date was March 5th. They gave me the date and time for the pre-op meeting and test. And the best of all, the information on the 1500 calorie diet I was to follow for 2 weeks prior to my surgery. 2-weeks prior to surgery my wife went to the store, stocked up on slim-fast shakes and frozen lean cusines and I started this crazy 1500 calorie diet. I was approx 390-400 lbs. It wasn't as bad as I expected. The day before surgery a few of my friends from work and my wife took me out for my "last meal". I went to the local BBQ shack and had a full rack of ribs. Normally, before the diet I could clean them off and still be hungry, however, I ended up sending almost half of them home with a co-worker! We then had a small desert and sat and talked for about an hour. It was the last time I really ate "real" food. The next morning my wife and I were up at 0430 getting showers and packing bags for my hospital stay. I was told to be prepared for a 3 day hospital stay. Surgery began at around 0900 and I was out and in recovery by 1030. No problems with sedation or intubation. However, I was slightly oversedated and sent to the ICU for the night because they were worried about the sedation and my sleep apnea becoming a problem. I don't remember much of this. The most I remember is having a cathader that I kept asking to be taken out and waking up with the CPAP mask on at one point. The next day at around 0800 I was taken for a swollow study (worse tasting stuff in my life). Everything looked great! Cathader was taken out and I was released to drink clear liquids! A few hours later I was moved out of ICU up to a regular floor bed. My wife spent hours with me at the hospital, encouraging me to get up out of bed to walk and get the gas off my stomach. She made sure that I was getting adequate nutrition as well as enough Water to drink. She even brought me fat free milk! On the Friday after surgery I called her to come get me. They removed my JP drain and got me ready to go. I was able to go home and get a FULL NAP!!! I actually felt good enough when I woke up to go to the grocery with her to get some broth, Soups, and yogurts. Since then, I am down to only 1 pain pill a day if I go out for a long period of time. I haven't gone back to work, but don't have a follow up until Monday. I'm hoping to get the staples taken out of the incisions on Monday as well. They itch like crazy. And I'm super excited to start the mushy stage of my diet. I'm ready to get back to the gym and start walking and riding the bike and lose some of this weight a little quicker. I'm amazed at the little amout that I'm eating and it's keeping me satisfied. I already have more energy than I did before the surgery and I am able to stay awake longer during the day. I did cheat yesterday and had 1 lean hotdog. I ate it very slowly and didn't drink anything with it or afterwards. I didn't get sick, but I felt 100x's better afterwards. Guess, we're not all perfect lol Hope everyone else that has been sleeved is doing well also, and everyone getting ready to be sleeved is excited!

I have found that 4-6 ounces of Protein is the right amount to keep me satisfied for about 3-4 hours. I can eat more of some items but dense protein (beef, chicken, seafood) fills me up and I stay satisfied longer. If I do yogurt or protein shakes I find that I am hungrier sooner.

It gets better. Try shrimp. My sleeve loves shrimp. Tuna salad, seafood salad, chicken salad all made "wet". Scrambled eggs with cheese. Ricotta with 1 or 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce with a layer of shredded mozzarella warmed in the microwave. Cottage cheese with salad dressing Hummus Cheese sticks. Dannon light and fit Greek yogurt. Ham and cheese roll ups. Keep trying new things. I eat something protein every 3 to 4 hours. Not much but enough for fuel. I eat to live not live to eat. Good luck.

Hi. I had the surgery on the 9 th of this month and a friend of mine had it about 3 weeks before me. I have not had issues, but I did not have to be on liquid that long. But, my friend had a lot of issues with hunger and she told her doctor about it and he adjusted her diet. Maybe yours can do that for you as well if you let them know what a hard time you're having. I know every surgeon seems to have a different plan. The first week out of the hospital I could have SF pudding, yogurt, blended soups, cream of wheat, applsauce and protein shakes. And it has worked well for me. It's my second week out of the hospital and I am already starting the mushy stage. So, my point is that maybe they can make an exception for you. Not everyone has it that strict. I'm certainly not saying you should eat those things. But maybe you could. Have you asked them about it yet?

I had to experiment with various protein drinks post-op, because my tastes for them definitely changed and some were less pleasant than others for my new sleeve. The ones I ended up drinking were EAS AdventEDGE Carb Control, which I bought at Walmart and Target. Another thing you can try to do is add unflavored whey protein powder to your soups and yogurts. Just be careful when adding it to soup. If the soup is too hot, it can cause the powder to curdle.

Canned chicken breast makes an easy and moist Chicken salad... just drain and mix with some Miracle Whip. A scrambled egg. Refried Beans with cheese. Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt is great (I still love and eat it almost every day). I was able to eat fish on soft foods, and Tilapia was very easy for me.

My favorite go to is Greek yogurt mixed with powdered peanut butter and protein powder (I prefer chocolate but good with vanilla or banana flavour). I also like to sometimes add cinnamon. Then eat as a pudding or a dip for fruit like apples. Yum!! Sent from my SM-G900W8 using BariatricPal mobile app

You should be able to have a scope done to see what size your sleeve is. I agree with CGJ. You need another opinion. Research who is available to you and ask for a consult. DS should be your last resort. There has to be a reason you don't feel full on a small amount of food with a sleeve. I am 5 years out and I still can't finish any meal I try to eat, like steak and veggies. If I eat 3 oz of steak, I might be able to eat one pc of broccoli . Are you eating dense Protein or sliders like yogurt?

My doctor instructs me to stay on the mushie phase for 3 days, yogurt, soups, Protein shakes, refried Beans pureed etc. Basically he's told me just don't chew...LOL

Hi noorjenna I am a week post op today, I am at this stage having Optifast shakes, drinking yogurt, V8 vege juice & jelly. I'm going to start having home made soup today as well. I was in hospital for 5 days to monitor my hydration which is very important. I wasn't a big ice cube fan but I couldn't get enough of ice chips so maybe have a supply of ice chips or crushed ice ready to go. I wish you an easy & speedy recovery, any decision you make to improve your quality of life is the right decision :-) Just know this is a great place for support and we are at your fingertips xxx

I am eating pudding, yogurt, milk, jello and popsicles, but I want something fulfilling. The soup is just not cutting it. I feel like I'm hungry in an hour, and I have to hold off, because I feel like I am hungry too soon. I just don't like that hungry feeling.

I just had a fill today and she always has me do 2 days of protein shakes and clears and then 2 days of mushies like oatmeal with protein powder and yogurt and soups.

Crystal light my hubby bought chicken noodle soup that I strained the broth had more flavor s/f/popcycles. I could not have yogurt or pudding or fudge pops. I did have s/f. The second week. I got to add protein shakes(only) then 4 days after that mush mush now I'm on soft food. I'm 3 weeks out.

basically I only have 3 meals a day no Snacks Breakfast might be greek yogurt or eggs scrambled with small cup of fruit or meat and veggies. lunch and dinner is meat and veggies or an occasional whole grain whole wheat with ham slices and mustard. I drink mostly Water with occasional crystal light I try to limit carbs to under 60 grams a day meat mostly consists of ground beef, turkey, chicken. Ill make the occasional beef or chicken stew with a pressure cooker. I dont eat rice or potatoes dont want the trigger foods. carbs crave carbs especially simple carbs. what i put in my body will influence what i will crave and influences hunger i use 85percent lean ground meat. once in a while Ill make pork like pork chops veggies mostly consist of broccoli, spinach, or string Beans sometimes carrots but carrots have a lot of sugar in them so I def limit them. sometimes asparagus steak sometimes but i cut it into strips and do a stir fry. so let me know what you guys think Im interested to know your input

OH MY GOSH - I am so with ya - I too, at about that time was STARVING - Stomach growling, tumbling...and I'm seriously thinking there is NO WAY I can live like this - THEN - I found GNC 100% whey Protein - unflavored - you can literally mix it into anything - tomato soup, milk, carnation instant breakfast (my favorite) yogurt, sugar free pudding, refried beans--- etc. It really did make a difference and got me thru to the next food stage --- I think at this point it's your body saying "what the heck have you done to me - where's the beef"..... ha! Now, I'm 20 days post op and on mushies/soft food and I have not had the hunger pangs that I did before - I still get hungry - but by then it's about time to grab something. Just remember they say that at this point there really isn't any restriction (only swelling/healing process) so you will tend to be a little hungry - ME however, while I'm not feeling anything like what I would call "restriction" I am consuming way less than before- I'm getting fuller quicker and on much less - so SOMETHING is working in there. Hang in there - there are better days to come.

I can't get in my required protein without a protein rich snack. cheese lowfat plain Greek yogurt

I'm 18 days out now , been doing puree since day 3. I do a lot of the re fried beans and yogurts my stomach is super sensitive still, I just need to find a way to get in more protein. I drink the Carnation breakfast essentials twice a day but I need something with more protein I'm gonna start trying different protein drinks.

My surgery was march 12th I've been on puree since and I've found beans work great with a little chicken broth blended. Ive also been doing cannon light and fit yogurt and its awesome. I will say please eat slow no more what you eat because if you eat it to fast you will regret it lol. Good luck to ya!

Hi @@chelleshocked ... it's 4 weeks post op for me and I'm also feeling good! I can't believe how much better -- and more "normal" -- I feel from week to week. eggs are awesome, and so is Greek yogurt! A few days ago I made Eggface's ham, cheese, and triple onion bites (aka crustless mini quiches), and they're fab! You can substitute ingredients easily if you aren't allowed to have meat yet. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-world-egg-day-8-eggceptional-recipes.html

I go through some weird phases where one day I can get a portion down no problem, then the next day the same size portion would make me feel miserable. I'm a year out now and chicken still will get me from time to time like no other meat does. Haven't been able to figure out any rhym or reason to it. All I can guess is that I didn't chew a few bites well enough, or took a few bites too quickly. For instance, if I was eating a hunk of chicken I wouldn't be able to eat a whole one. However if I took that same size chicken breast and shredded it into chicken salad I could probably get it all down. Most of us get burnt out on protein shakes but try to keep them worked into your diet to hit your daily goals. At least until you can your protein in directly from food sources. My doc used to get "mad" at me for telling him I was eating 3 meals a day plus 2-3 "snacks", but those snacks were good protein sources. There was no way in hell I could get all my protein in from eating in the course of 3 meals. I had no choice but to have a protein shake as a fourth meal or a random Greek yogurt to hit my goals.

I was in a stall for about 3 weeks, then gained about 2 lbs in a week and I called my bari team in near hysterics! Very discouraged. I was feeling awful, with stomach upset, gas, bloating, lethargy. All that has gone away since I cut out dairy--which admittedly has been hard, b/c cheese (esp. cottage cheese) and yogurt had been a big part of my eating plan.

Oh yes...lactose can certainly have that effect. Which makes it inconvenient as heck b/c most pre-made shakes are heavy in lactose. Generally now I use protein powder (I like IsoPure, BioTrust and Purely Protein), and make my own shakes with either lactose free milk, oat milk or almond milk. Eggs don't bother me, (but I do know they bother some who are lactose intolerant). so I eat them a lot (egg beaters, because of the calories). When I did puree's, I actually ran chicken through the food processor with a little broth and it made a thick, high protein soup. It sounds gross but with a few spices it wasn't that bad I also had to give up cottage cheese and yogurt, although I did try almond milk based yogurt, but didn't care for it. Some people do like it though, so maybe it's worth a try for you. Peanut butter and almond butter are also a nice treat but the calories/fat can be a problem if you have too much, of course. Hope that helps a little. It's a challenge, for sure, but you got this! I've found that this whole process is full of ups and downs (and not just the weight either) but when I focus on the big picture and remember why I did this, it makes it all worthwhile!

Your ability to tolerate liquids will increase. If Protein shakes are giving you trouble, check with your doctor for other options (For a couple days I refused to eat anything because I HATED the shakes). He switched me to greek yogurts and a special low carb/high protein milk to replace the shakes, and I felt better. Don't be afraid to collaborate with your doctor to find a successful plan for you (just make sure it's with your doc, not solely with random internet posters). Also, breathe. It gets better, I promise.

So excited that all of a sudden this week I am tolerating more food. Still not getting in necessary calories, but I can now tolerate yogurt and cottage cheese. Protein drinks are good too and I can finally eat 1/4-1/3 cup of food per meal for at least 2 meals a day. Adding a third tomorrow. I'm even getting more and more fluids in everyday. But here's the best part: My daughter gave me a hug yesterday and backed up and said, " What's that?" I looked at her funny and she lifted my shirt and pressed on my rib. Then she said "I've never felt that before. I'm so proud of you mommy."

@@Sherri1964 - if it is too dry it will often get stuck or at least it feels that way and is quite painful. Generally (with me anyway) I have to vomit to get it out because it just won't go down. If I have some sort of dip (hummus, Greek yogurt dip, etc) that seems to help it go down easier.